What to do if you see our aircraft
How to stay safe when our crew are attending an incident.
Every day, our crew are on standby to deliver lifesaving critical care to those in a life or limb-threatening. Until the red phone rings, they have no idea what emergency they’ll be tasked to, or which area of Wales they’ll be heading to.
Having attended over 53,000 missions, it’s highly likely that you will have seen one of our Welsh dragons flying across Wales or even landing nearby. Depending on the circumstances, our pilots will search for the nearest and safest place to land, which could be a field, football pitch, park or on the road. Whilst we appreciate that it can be very exciting to see our helicopters and the lifesaving crew at work, we kindly ask that you read this advice as there are lots of things to consider when you see an air ambulance.
Our critical care medics’ primary focus after landing will be getting access to the patient and then assessing their condition. The emergencies we attend are life or limb-threatening, so the faster they can do this, the sooner the patient can receive the treatment they need.
Sadly, there have been occasions where air ambulances have had to abort landing people blocking their landing area. This sadly impacts the patient in need as it delays the team.
For your safety, and the safety of our crew, here are some helpful tips to follow if you see our crew:
Help our crew
There are many ways that you can help our crew to make their landing as easy as it can be. If you’re on a crowded beach or enjoying a picnic and see our crew approaching, pack everything away so that you can move should they being landing close to you.
Keep back when the aircraft is landing or taking off
Whilst it may be tempting to rush over to the aircraft, the best thing you can do is keep as far back as possible until the helicopter has landed. If you’re in a field, head over to the outer perimeter and if you’re in an urban environment, stand as far back as you possibly can. The downdraft created by our blades is very powerful and could knock you off your feet.
Secure any belongings
Our helicopters fly at high speeds and the downdraft created by our blades is very powerful and could knock you off your feet so be sure to keep your children and/or pets safe and close by. Be sure to also hold on tight to lose items, such as bags, pushchairs or anything you may be holding.
Approaching the helicopter
Once landed, it can be tempting to run to the aircraft. However, the medical team will need make their way to the patient, so please keep your distance and do not approach the aircraft. Our pilots will remain with the helicopter at all times, and when suitable will often allow you to approach the helicopter to have a closer look or to ask questions. Please do not touch anything unless instructed and keep hold of pets and children.
Once the medical team start to return, please move back to a safe distance to allow them to safely transfer the patient and load their equipment.
Take extra care when taking photographs or video
We love to see the pictures and videos you take of our helicopters, but please be mindful of the situation and ensure that no patients are captured or that you’re not obstructing our crew from doing their job. The patients we attend are likely facing the worst day of their lives, and protecting their privacy is very important to us.
We rely on your support to deliver our service across Wales. Whether you donate, volunteer or just help our crews to do their job when they land nearby, we sincerely appreciate your support.
